It took Augerill a long time to arrive. Long enough, at least, for Idriseth to rub his wrists raw from his attempts at escaping. But it was hopeless, it seemed. Idriseth hadn't even been given the opportunity to try to talk to the woman who had brought him here either. Not that he expected he would have been able to convince her to let him go either way, but it would have given him a chance at least. Like this, he was stuck here, useless and waiting to be convinced to help Augerill.

Idriseth barely raised his head when the woman finally came back, with Augerill right behind her. As embarrassing as it was, Idriseth had gotten tired from being forced to stand here for hours. Though he supposed this was to be expected—he was practically a human at the moment, and he'd had no food and very little water over the last three days.

The situation was still humiliating and unacceptable, but at least it made logical sense. He couldn't have hoped to be in a better state, all things considered.

"We meet again, dragon," Augerill said as he looked Idriseth up and down. The dragon just glared at him, doing the same. He hadn't paid much attention to how Augerill looked the first time he'd seen him. So much so that the fact that the man had a beard was surprising. "My Shadow here tells me you don't feel like being helpful."

Shadow? Idriseth didn't think he'd heard of anything like that before, but he would assume Shadows were agents sent out to complete difficult assignments for Augerill. Such as capturing a dragon. Though it hadn't been nearly as difficult as it should have been.

"Don't touch the necklace," Augerill told the woman, who frowned at him. And so did Idriseth. How could Augerill possibly know—

Except, a dragon would be able to sense there was magic etched into the stone hanging from his neck. Perhaps a half-dragon would as well. Though Idriseth still had trouble believing that was Augerill's true nature. Perhaps it was simply his currently dulled senses, but Augerill looked perfectly human to Idriseth. There were no features he could see that would give away Augerill being anything more than human. Even just his eyes were darker than any dragon's could be.

"Why not, sire?"

"That necklace is the only reason he hasn't broken his bonds yet," Augerill replied, looking away from his Shadow and at Idriseth, taking a step forward to look him right in the eye. "Isn't that right, Idriseth? That's what is making you human, so to speak."

Idriseth glared harder, but only to not give Augerill the satisfaction of seeing how confused and disturbed he truly felt. How could Augerill know this? Not even Idriseth had known about the side effects until he'd cast the spell. Sensing magic might explain how Augerill could logically deduct that the necklace made Idriseth look human, but how would he know it was making him weaker?

"I would know," Augerill continued, smirking as he very deliberately started playing with a ring that was on his middle finger.

Idriseth's eyes widened. Was Augerill implying that his ring was also enchanted to make him look human? Idriseth scowled in frustration. Curse his dulled senses for not being able to sense magic at the moment. How was he supposed to be able to tell if Augerill was lying or not?

But then, Augerill knew so much. How could he possibly be lying about all of this? But if he wasn't, where had he gotten the spell from? Idriseth had thought he was the one who had invented it. And if Augerill truly was a half-dragon, who was his father?

"I would show you my true self, but my wings would ruin my cloak." Idriseth couldn't help but roll his eyes, which made Augerill smirk again. "As hard as this may be to believe, I do want us to be allies. According to your people, I am an aberration, correct?"

Idriseth didn't bother nodding and instead let his silence speak for him, seeing as Augerill was not looking for confirmation anyway. According to dragons, a half-dragon was something nonexistent rather than an aberration, but the difference mattered little.

The idea of being allies with this man was frankly ridiculous, however. Augerill's family had hunted down most of Idriseth's clan, and Augerill himself had killed his mate's friends. Even if some of it had been deserved, Idriseth would never consider helping Augerill simply on general principle.

"And you are what they would consider an aberration as well. You don't seem to act like a dragon—you don't want to kill humans, or attack our towns—and I can make sure no one attacks you in turn. Teach me to use magic, so I can help the people under my rule, and I give you my word you won't be seen as an enemy here."

Idriseth snorted, unable not to find humor in that. The idea of Augerill protecting him was far too ludicrous and an obvious lie not to be amusing. And even if Augerill truly did want to help his people, there was no doubt in the dragon's mind that eventually, he would use magic for his own gain, and only for his own gain. It was inevitable with humans like him.

"Well, I tried," Augerill said, sighing and turning to the woman. "Go ahead, Renar. Make him talk."

The woman, apparently called Renar, picked up a knife off the table behind her, but then she hesitated, her lips pressed into a thin line. "Sire, are you sure you want me to do this? Once I begin, there will be no going back. He might seek revenge later."

"Of course he will," Augerill replied, looking Idriseth in the eye as if this was meant to be some kind of challenge. "Which is why I won't ever set him free. He can be an honored, involuntary guest at my palace even after I learn to use magic on my own."

Idriseth supposed he shouldn't have expected anything better than an eternity of imprisonment to be his fate. He wasn't sure if he'd seek to kill Augerill for this, but it made sense the lord would want to make sure Idriseth couldn't burn down his palace. And he had no doubts Augerill would find a way to affix the enchanted stone to him permanently, so there would be no chance of Idriseth escaping.

"My lord, this could be one of your relatives," the woman whispered to Augerill, but Idriseth could still hear her. And he almost gasped. He hadn't even thought to consider that Augerill's father might have been a part of Idriseth's own clan, but it would make sense.

They had been the most prominent in this region, and closest to Redreach. If Augerill truly was a half-dragon, it would make sense. But Idriseth couldn't help but reject the thought outright. He didn't want to think about how much Augerill's existence would defile his clan's legacy. He couldn't. Was Idriseth's defect not enough?

"Yes, and my human relatives have killed most of my dragon relatives," Augerill replied, folding his arms. "By keeping this one alive, I am already treating him much better than they would. Now please, put aside your ideals and do your job, Renar. This is going to be unpleasant for everyone, so the sooner you start, the sooner this will be over."

Idriseth had no idea what Augerill had meant by ideals, but he could agree that this was going to be unpleasant as he watched Renar raise her knife, the glow of torches bouncing off the sharp edge. He tried to twist away as she approached, but through both his exhaustion and simply having nowhere to go, the knife was pressing against his ribs through his tunic.

He barely got enough time to bite down on his gag before the blade began to cut his skin open, drawing a cry out of him. The onslaught of pain made his vision go dark for an instant, drowning out everything else, and forcing him to focus only on the horrible burning in his side.

He whined when the knife was pulled away, taking in deep breaths through his nose as he was given a moment of respite while Renar cut his tunic off. He was surprised she hadn't done that before cutting into him, but Idriseth was just glad he was given a little time to steel himself for more of this.

He shivered as he felt warm blood running down his side. He hadn't thought it would hurt this much. Was it due to him never being in a situation like this, or was it the spell making him functionally human? And how long was he going to be able to take this for before begging Augerill to stop?

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Idriseth squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth. No, he would die before he helped Augerill. Whatever reason the lord wanted magic, it was not going to be good, and so Idriseth couldn't let him have it. No matter how much it hurt. No matter how much he would want it to end.

He choked as Renar cut his other side with no warning, managing to keep his cries of pain silent as he clenched his fists, trying to ride out the agony. Unfortunately, before he could recover, the knife was being pressed against his chest instead, cutting into his flesh slow and deep and forcing him to scream.

It felt like his entire being was on fire, as if Renar was carving right into his very core. Oh stars, why did it hurt so much? He could feel an agonized tear escaping out of the corners of his firmly closed eyes, but he couldn't even manage to feel ashamed as Renar continued cutting into him, tormenting him, barely giving him even a second to recover before moving her knife and making him bleed more.

Despite being so tired and having his ankles bound, he wanted to try to kick at the woman, desperate to defend himself even just a little, but his body refused to cooperate. All it let him do was to curl in on himself in a desperate, fruitless attempt at protecting himself from the pain.

All he could feel, all he could comprehend, was an unending agony until he couldn't keep his screams at bay anymore. He was sure he was crying, his chest heaving with sobs that made his wounds burn so much worse, but he could barely tell if tears were flowing from his eyes. He hurt too much everywhere to care about anything other than just wanting it to stop.

When Renar finally paused for a moment, it took Idriseth a moment to even notice it. It didn't seem to matter if she was actively cutting into him anymore. His entire body was on fire from the wounds he'd already sustained, no matter what she did. Just being alive at the moment was unbearable.

He hung from his shackles, shaking and breathing hard, trying not to whimper with every movement his chest made. But over the haze of pain and exhaustion, he suddenly heard a voice. There were several talking at once, but only one of them was bringing him out of his tortured daze.

"—him alone, you bastard!"

Caldor?

Idriseth put all his strength into cracking his eyes open. He barely managed it, but it was enough to see his mate, held by one of Augerill's guards. Idriseth felt his insides twist. No, no, Caldor couldn't be here. He couldn't! Augerill would have him killed. And Idriseth would be able to do nothing but watch it happen.

"Hawthorne," Augerill addressed him, sounding surprised, while Idriseth tried to pull together the slivers of strength he had left to fight against the shackles, feeling tears of frustration stinging his eyes. He had to protect his mate. He had to....

He slumped in his chains as he exhausted himself too much to continue fighting. He could barely stand. All he could do was watch his mate struggle against the guard holding him secured with a sword against his throat.

"Let Idri go," Caldor growled at Augerill, who laughed in a genuinely amused way.

"Idri?" he repeated, a mocking smile on his face. But then his expression turned thoughtful as he turned back to Idriseth, studying him silently.

"Shall I kill him, finally?" the guard who had captured Caldor asked, pushing the sword's edge against his throat harder. Idriseth watched it with bated breath, his heart clenching painfully. He'd never known such distress, such desperation.

"No."

Idriseth slumped forward as he felt a wave of relief wash over him, the shackles digging painfully into his wrists. Thank the stars.

"Hawthorne will stay alive," Augerill continued, "as long as Idriseth gives me what I want."

Idriseth felt shivers run down his spine. Of course there was a catch. But he didn't care. As long as it meant his mate would be safe, Idriseth was going to do whatever Augerill wanted. No consequence was greater than Caldor's death.

Idriseth was nodding before Augerill could even ask what he thought of his offer.

"Whatever he wants, don't give it to him, Idri!" Caldor exclaimed, trying to get out of the guard's hold once more. Augerill ignored him, taking a step towards Idriseth and pulling the spit-soaked gag out of his mouth.

"I want to hear you say it."

Idriseth coughed and swallowed, trying to get his sore voice to form words. "I...I'll do what you want. Just...don't h-hurt Caldor."

"Wonderful," Augerill said, smiling at Idriseth with delight. "Then we have an agreement. As long as you do your part, no harm will come to him." The lord turned to smirk at Caldor. "Oh, and thank you for your impeccable timing."

"You hurt him, and I'll—" The rest of Caldor's threat turned into a muffled cry as the guard clasped her hand over his mouth.

"Thank you, Zaria." Augerill sighed in relief. "Make sure he is not able to talk. I do not want to listen to this throughout the entire journey back to Redreach."

Idriseth almost whimpered when the guard dragged Caldor out of the room, making him lose sight of him. Idriseth knew he could do nothing to protect his mate in his current state, but he still wanted to be near him, to see that he wasn't being mistreated.

"I give you my word, Idriseth," Augerill told him, clearly sensing his distress. "Hawthorne will not be harmed, no matter how much I would like him to be."

His words did not do much to comfort Idriseth, but he believed them. The lord wouldn't jeopardize his chance at learning to use magic simply because he wanted to kill a thief, who had likely been only a minor annoyance to him.

"I'm surprised an honorless thief matters so much to someone like you," Augerill commented, a pensive frown on his face. "I'm glad to see that not killing him after he brought me your spellbook was the right choice after all."

Idriseth would have at least glared at him for talking about his mate like this, but he was too tired to do much else beyond trying to keep himself upright. Idriseth could barely keep his head up anymore

"Dress his wounds and have him ready for transport," Augerill said to Renar, turning around. "We leave as soon as possible."

And with that he walked out of the room, leaving Idriseth alone with Renar. He shot her a weak glare when he saw her grimace at him with guilt, but he quickly lost the strength to keep even that up, and instead he closed his eyes and let his head fall forward. All he could focus on was his worry over Caldor and his nigh unbearable need to sleep.

Not even the pain of Renar cleaning his wounds and wrapping bandages around them helped to battle his overwhelming fatigue. He must have fallen unconscious for a moment because the next thing he knew he was falling forward as his shackles were undone. He would have fallen onto his face, if not for the arms that had caught him.

Idriseth whined as the sudden movement sent sharp, burning pain through his entire chest, and he steeled himself for more of it as he waited for Renar to restrain him again.

"Idri, are you with me?"

Idriseth frowned. That wasn't Renar's voice. He held back a groan as a hand cupped his chin, gently pulling his head up and tapped his cheek, finally making him open his eyes.

"Hey."

"K-Kyra?" he croaked, blinking owlishly at her. Was that her? Since Caldor was here, it wasn't too strange for Kyra to be present as well, but how had she avoided being captured?

His eyes widened when he realized she was wearing armor similar to what he'd seen on the guard who had captured his mate, along with a helmet that covered up at least part of her face.

A disguise. Clever.

But what had become of Renar? Idriseth found his answer almost immediately as he looked around the room, spotting Renar's unconscious form sitting up against the wall.

The fact that Augerill had only left Renar here might have meant that there weren't many guards around. Perhaps that gave them a chance at escaping, still.

"Caldor." Idriseth breathed in deeply, trying to get his tired mind to assess the situation. "He—"

"Yeah, I know. We'll save him," Kyra replied, sounding angry. She looked back quickly before turning to Idriseth. "Can you move?"

Not like this. He was still too tired and in pain. But his hands were now free, which meant he could do something about it. He clumsily grasped for the cord around his neck, grabbing it and pulling it over his head.

As soon as the stone was far enough away from him, Idriseth breathed, feeling the pain lessen and some of his energy return to him as his true self was revealed after being hidden behind an illusion for days and days.

Stretching his wings, Idriseth flapped them as much as the small cell would allow, using the force they offered to get himself to his feet, stumbling a bit. He'd spent years irritated with his wings, angry with them for not being able to get rid of them at will, but now he was ecstatic to have them back. He hugged himself with them, stretching his back. His wounds still burned, but his now superior healing made them a bit more manageable.

He took in a few deep breaths, giving himself a second to enjoy feeling proper and himself again before handing the necklace to Kyra. He couldn't risk it being near him, as it touching him would bring the human glamor back immediately.

Kyra took it without comment, staring at him with wide eyes. She seemed intimidated almost as her gaze slid from his wings to his horns and back again, but then she shook her head, wrapping the necklace's cord around her wrist.

"I only saw four guards in this whole place, one of which Cal knocked out," she said, moving towards the corridor and looking around the corner cautiously. "Which means we might have a chance at getting out of here, but it also means that if anyone sees my face, they'll know I'm an impostor." Then she looked back at him. "But with you looking like this, I guess that won't matter."

Idriseth frowned. With his relief at removing the glamor, he hadn't considered how noticeable he was going to be like this. That mattered little, though. If there truly were only a few guards left to take care of, he didn't see a problem.

Idriseth took a determined step out of the cell, only to gasp and clutch an arm around his chest as his wounds reminded him they were still there. He would have to be careful about how he moved.

Kyra was watching him closely again, but this time with concern. "Are you okay to do this?"

Idriseth nodded, gritting his teeth. He may have been injured, hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, but he would let none of that stop him from saving Caldor and bringing him to safety.

"Let's go find my mate."